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The J.D. program at UNC School of Law provides students with a broad legal education that will prepare them to begin their legal careers at a high level of readiness to pursue their professional goals. In recent years, law schools nationwide have been responding to the legal community's need for students to obtain additional practical skills while in school, and Carolina has responded with curriculum changes and additional extracurricular skills-training programs and offerings.

An Introduction to the J.D. Curriculum

First-Year Students

The first-year curriculum has mandatory requirements in which students:

Second-year students are required to take Professional Responsibility, introducing them to legal ethics and the law governing lawyers, and they also have numerous opportunities to develop practical skills.

Third-Year Students

In the third year, students deepen and broaden substantive exposure to the law. Students are encouraged to pursue advanced electives that build upon the foundation courses taken during the second year and which are relevant to their career paths. They're also encouraged to enroll in "perspectives courses" to reflect on legal studies from the viewpoint of related disciplines, such as history, literature, social science or philosophy, or from the viewpoints of other cultures through comparative or critical legal studies.

Third-year students may enroll in up to three credit hours of courses offered by other UNC professional schools or graduate departments, if the courses are substantially related to the student's legal education and with the prior approval of both the graduate or professional school and the law school's Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

This is also a time in which students are more rigorously preparing for the transition to practice, and thus they have the opportunity to enroll in courses that stress practical skills, such as:

The Clinical Program, to which students can apply to participate in Civil, Community Development, Immigration Policy or Juvenile Justice Clinics

The Externship Program, which places students with federal and state judges, government agencies, public interest groups and corporate counsel offices

Skills-related courses such as Interviewing, Counseling and Negotiation or Mediation

Additional Requirements for Graduation

There are three additional requirements for graduation: two writing courses and one skills course.

Writing: Students must complete two writing experiences after the first year of law school, at least one of which must satisfy a "rigorous writing experience" (RWE). An RWE is defined as satisfactory completion of a significant research paper or a series of related papers, which, taken together, are the functional equivalent of a significant research paper, under the direct supervision of a faculty member. In addition, at least one of the two writing experiences should be completed during the second-year of law school.

In addition to an RWE, students must also satisfy one additional writing requirement. This second writing experience (WE) may be satisfied by:

Writing completed for a clinic designated by the director of Clinical Programs

Skills: Students must complete at least one two- or three-hour skills course beyond the first year. The Skills requirement may be satisfied in either the second or third year. If a course is designated as a writing course as well as a skills course, the student must indicate whether he or she is taking the course to satisfy the writing requirement or the skills requirement. A three-hour independent study may also satisfy the RWE requirement. The RWE may be completed in either the second or the third year of law school.

Extracurricular Activities

Second-year students are encouraged to participate in extra- and co-curricular activities designed to strengthen skills in legal writing, oral communication, and advocacy, and to provide opportunities for leadership and community service to individuals who require but often cannot afford legal assistance. The primary emphasis, however, must remain on academics.

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